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Description

As I already mentioned I love Vác, this small city just North from Budapest, capital of Hungary. Its downtown is saturated with history. I already told a story in the description of Vac, the Same Old Story about the bad luck the city had during the Turkish Occupation and its slow resurrection in the early XVIII. c. But the story is way older than that. It is said that around the 1070s (AD) a holy hermit called Vacz lived in an oak forest at the site where the town is nowadays. In 1074 two royal princes met in that forest, who were in war against their uncle, the king who previously resigned then reclaimed the crown. When the princes entered the forest a miracle happened: a big deer appeared to them and they started to chase the noble game. It ran to the forest deep but found himself cornered. Then it turned to the hunters and they saw that the antlers has burning candles on all spikes and there is a holy cross over the deer's head. They acknowledged it as a sign of their victory and when it came they returned to the place to build a chapel. The chapel has become a basilica and the surroundings has become a town named after the heremit. The founding document of the abbey of Garamszentbenedek (now Hronský Beňadik in Slovakia) mentions the place as a town in 1075. But during the 1241-42 years the tatar hordes burnt down the town and killed its population. King Bela IV The Rebuilder invited settlers there who built their town a bit further to the North and built a church for them, sacred to St. Michael. (The site of the old basilica is a sacred place even today and it is a pilgrimage site with a calvary that gave its name Hétkápolna [Seven Chapels].)

During the Turkish Occupation Vác barely survived and suffered heavy damages. The St. Michael's got into dire conditions and in 1731 a big fire consumed with the major part of the town. The church was damaged beyond repair and got demolished. But the basement and some remnants of the wall were left, and they were buried under the pavement of the square. In 1755 a new church was erected, commonly called as "The Whites' Church" (after the reverend of the Dominicans who owned and ran it—see more under the previously mentioned image).

In 2006, during the main square (actually a triangle) reconstruction they unearthed the remnants of the St. Michael's and after a conservation they opened it as a recreation area for the public. The walls still show the shape of the former church and during winters there is an ice ring in the area of the nave. The walkway you see here was the southern entrance of the church. (There are some constructions of the Christmas Fair waiting to be removed).

This photo was taken with my good old Beast,
Mamiya RB67 ProSD with
Mamiya/Sekor F=100–200 mm f/5.2 C, Kodak Portra 400
and it is 6×8 because of the motorized 6×8 back and converted light baffle, etc. Developed and scanned in a lab.

Don't misuse or usurp this, it is my work. This image is copyrighted. Any misuse will call immediate legal action.

Description

As I already mentioned I love Vác, this small city just North from Budapest, capital of Hungary. Its downtown is saturated with history. I already told a story in the description of Vac, the Same Old Story about the bad luck the city had during the Turkish Occupation and its slow resurrection in the early XVIII. c. But the story is way older than that. It is said that around the 1070s (AD) a holy hermit called Vacz lived in an oak forest at the site where the town is nowadays. In 1074 two royal princes met in that forest, who were in war against their uncle, the king who previously resigned then reclaimed the crown. When the princes entered the forest a miracle happened: a big deer appeared to them and they started to chase the noble game. It ran to the forest deep but found himself cornered. Then it turned to the hunters and they saw that the antlers has burning candles on all spikes and there is a holy cross over the deer's head. They acknowledged it as a sign of their victory and when it came they returned to the place to build a chapel. The chapel has become a basilica and the surroundings has become a town named after the heremit. The founding document of the abbey of Garamszentbenedek (now Hronský Beňadik in Slovakia) mentions the place as a town in 1075. But during the 1241-42 years the tatar hordes burnt down the town and killed its population. King Bela IV The Rebuilder invited settlers there who built their town a bit further to the North and built a church for them, sacred to St. Michael. (The site of the old basilica is a sacred place even today and it is a pilgrimage site with a calvary that gave its name Hétkápolna [Seven Chapels].)

During the Turkish Occupation Vác barely survived and suffered heavy damages. The St. Michael's got into dire conditions and in 1731 a big fire consumed with the major part of the town. The church was damaged beyond repair and got demolished. But the basement and some remnants of the wall were left, and they were buried under the pavement of the square. In 1755 a new church was erected, commonly called as "The Whites' Church" (after the reverend of the Dominicans who owned and ran it—see more under the previously mentioned image).

In 2006, during the main square (actually a triangle) reconstruction they unearthed the remnants of the St. Michael's and after a conservation they opened it as a recreation area for the public. The walls still show the shape of the former church and during winters there is an ice ring in the area of the nave. The walkway you see here was the southern entrance of the church. (There are some constructions of the Christmas Fair waiting to be removed).

This photo was taken with my good old Beast,
Mamiya RB67 ProSD with
Mamiya/Sekor F=100–200 mm f/5.2 C, Kodak Portra 400
and it is 6×8 because of the motorized 6×8 back and converted light baffle, etc. Developed and scanned in a lab.

Don't misuse or usurp this, it is my work. This image is copyrighted. Any misuse will call immediate legal action.